THEN SANTA PROCEEDED
TO THE CHILD-PRINCE HOME
THOUSANDS OF PRESENTS THERE
MORE YET TO COME

AS SANTA LOOKED
THE CHILD-PRINCE BATHED IN OIL
BLACK AS HIS SOUL, OILY AS HIS WORDS
SUCH FOUL BATH, YET THE CHILD-PRINCE REJOICED

'BRING IT ON', HE CRIED
I WANT MORE, MORE THAN I HAVE
FOR IT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH
AS LONG AS SOMEONE ELSE HAS IT

BUT WAIT, THE BLACK OIL IS TAINTED
RED, BRIGHT AS A RUBY, THICKER THAN OIL
A DROP OF BLOOD GLISTENED
BLOOD OF THE SOLDIER, SOAKING THE SANDY SOIL

SANTA DROPPED HIS HEAD TO HIS HANDS
'YOU TOLD ME SOLDIER, THIS IS YOUR WISH
YET I CAN NOT ABIDE SEEING THIS
YOU ARE LIKE A TOY SOLDIER TO THIS CHILD-LIKE PRINCE
HIS THIRST FOR MORE WILL HURT YOU AND MANY MORE LIVES'

SO SANTA DECIDED THEN AND THERE
TO SWITCH THE SOLDIER WITH THE PRINCE
AND LEAVE THEN AS THEY WERE

UPON AWAKENING IN A BLODDY OIL BATH
THE SOLDIER HAD NO CHOICE OTHER THAN WAIT
WAIT FOR HIS CITIZENS TO RESCUE HIM FROM THERE
FOR HE COULD NOT FIGHT HIS OWN PRINCE WHO BETRAYED HIM

THE CHILD-PRINCE AWAKENED CRYING FOR SERVANTS, 'I NEED MORE OIL','I DON'T LIKE THIS SANDS'
UPON REALIZING HE WAS ALL ALONE
THE CHILD-PRINCE WET HIS PANTS AND BEGGED TO GO HOME

BUT SANTA, UNMOVED, LEFT THINGS AS THEY WERE
FOR SUCH A NAUGHTY CHILD DESERVED THIS AND WORSE
A LUMP OF COAL PUNISHES CHILDLIKE SINS
A TON OF SAND AN BLOOD WOULD PUNISH HIS

SO THIS IS THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS
IN A LAND FULL OF SAND
AND BLOOD AND OIL, AND GREED OF MAN
IT REMINDS US CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS
SO THAT WE WILL BE READY TO FIGHT THE EVIL FROM WITHIN"

The soldiers of Charlie Company haven't been counting the days until Christmas. They don't count the weeks until they go home for good in February. Since their convoy was attacked Nov. 7 and a beloved sergeant was killed, they don't even count themselves as lucky.

First Sgt. William Karpowecz, has missed so many holidays at home that he barely noticed Thanksgiving.

The crusty sergeant with a mischievous smile plans to decorate the ugly 5-ton trucks with tinsel and lights. If circumstances and headquarters permit, he'll take his soldiers - those who can sing - and serenade the battalion's three other companies with Christmas carols.

Lt. Col. Rick Carlson took command in June of the 3rd Battalion which Charlie Company is part. he recalls. Mosul, about 250 miles north of Baghdad, was settling down after the U.S. invasion in March. Soldiers could wander through the bazaars, shopping and eating. They were sure they'd soon be going home.

Then, gradually, the violence against them accelerated. Grenades were tossed at the troops. Rifles were fired at them. It was back to war, with an enemy that was often invisible and deadly. They learned that going home early wasn't always good news.

'Oh, they have aged tremendously,' Carlson says of the soldiers. 'I see it physically, and I see it emotionally. But I detect it in a positive way. I see a lot of maturity.'

In June, he says, the troops' attitude was, 'What can we do for the Iraqi people?' Now, he says, 'what the soldiers are doing is, they are fighting for each other. I get that every time I go to the hospital, when we have soldiers that get hurt. The first thing they say is, 'I'm so sorry.' That one still tears me up. They have nothing to be sorry for. And yet it's the first thing they all say. ... '

'They have a wrench in one hand and a rifle in the other,' he says. 'They are continuing to go out and do what they can do for the Iraqi people every day.'

Calling home

Soldiers wrestle constantly with the issue of what to tell their families. [They] can phone home for about 33 cents a minute. Some call often; others not so much.

They measure their words.

'I tell them about some of the small successes. And whenever there's news about 101st soldiers going down, I call to make sure they know it wasn't me,' Takayesu says. 'I remind them if an Army chaplain doesn't show up at your door, it's a good sign.'

Staff Sgt. Earl Echohawk, 28, has been in the Army 10 years, He was slightly injured in the explosion that killed Kennon. He won't talk about that day. He calls his parents in Utah but never tells of the horror he's seen.

He only rarely talks to his two young daughters, Morgan, 4, and Lauren, 3. He could do it more often, he says, but 'I don't like to cry that much,'.

After he gets back from Iraq, he says he'll choose between his daughters and his Army career.

'I've been here long enough to learn what I want to know out of life. I love the Army. I love the military, with all my heart,' he says. 'But I love those girls. What's it all worth if you can't sit there and watch your young ones grow up?'

On the first day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the second day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the third day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the fourth day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the fifth day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the sixth day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Six Ashcrofts praying
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the seventh day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Seven Roves spinning
Six Ashcrofts praying
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the eighth day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Eight Chenneys milking (oil)
Seven Roves spinning
Six Ashcrofts praying
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the nineth day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Nine Rummies drumming (war drums)
Eight Chenneys milking (oil)
Seven Roves spinning
Six Ashcrofts praying
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the tenth day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Ten Haliburtons piping
Nine Rummies drumming (war drums)
Eight Chenneys milking (oil)
Seven Roves spinning
Six Ashcrofts praying
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.

On the eleventh day of bushmas Bush lovers sent to me
Eleven Lybians dancing
Ten Haliburtons piping
Nine Rummies drumming (war drums)
Eight Chenneys milking (oil)
Seven Roves spinning
Six Ashcrofts praying
Five golden spoons
Four collin lies
Three french vetos
Two Rush rehabs and
A tyrant under a palm tree.